Which Premier League clubs have qualified for Europe?

May 24, 2026 No Comments

Which Premier League clubs have qualified for Europe?ByBen RamsdaleBBC Sport journalistPublished14 minutes agoAs full-time whistles echoed around the grounds on Sunday, another Premier League season was brought to a close.Arsenal ended the season as champions for the first time in 22 years, while West Ham United suffered final-day heartbreak and will join Burnley and Wolves in the Championship in 2026-27.But, it wasn’t just relegation that was determined on the final day.There were five spots in Europe still up for grabs heading into the final 90 minutes of the campaign spanning across all three European competitions.Here is a look at how things panned out in an enthralling race.Get in touchSend us your questionsContact form

Who has qualified for the Champions League?

Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones celebrate — Image caption,

Mohamed Salah assisted the goal for Curtis Jones on his final Liverpool appearance as the Reds drew 1-1 with Brentford.

Prior to a ball being kicked on Sunday, champions Arsenal, along with Manchester City and Manchester United had already confirmed a spot in the top three and in turn, a place in next season’s Champions League.

Aston Villa’s victory over Liverpool in their penultimate game of the season had also confirmed Champions League football for Unai Emery’s side but, because of victory in the Europa League on Wednesday, Villa’s final positioning would have a knock-on effect.

A fourth-place finish for Villa would mean five Champions League spots for English sides, a fifth-place finish would mean six.

Emery’s men beat Manchester City 2-1 putting to bed all talk of six Champions League places and ensured two sides would compete in the Europa League.

The fifth and final spot therefore came down to a battle between Liverpool and Bournemouth.

Both sides were held to 1-1 draws, the Reds by Brentford and the Cherries by Nottingham Forest meaning both ended the day where they started it and Arne Slot’s team claimed the final Champions League position.

Who qualified for the Europa League?

Trai Hume celebrates with Sunderland supporters — Image caption,

Sunderland’s opening goalscorer Trai Hume was signed for £200,000 from Linfield in January 2022 when the club were in League One.

With Aston Villa picking up all three points, it left two Europa League spots to play for and there were four clubs in total vying for one of those.

Bournemouth had already guaranteed at least a top-seven finish and a place in Europe for the first time in their history after the midweek draw against Manchester City but the draw on the final day ensured that they would finish sixth.

That left Brighton, Chelsea, Brentford and Sunderland fighting for seventh.

Incredibly, it would be the team that started the day furthest away from that position that would ultimately take the second and final spot in the Europa League – Sunderland.

The Black Cats became the 10th team since the Premier League’s inception to earn a spot in Europe at the first attempt following promotion from the second tier the season before.

A 2-1 victory over Chelsea, combined with defeats for Brighton, plus Brentford dropping points meant the Black Cats jumped from tenth all the way up to seventh.

Only four promoted sides have previously qualified for Europe via their league position with the most recent being Wolves in 2018-19 and now Regis le Bris’ side become the fifth.

Crystal Palace will join both Bournemouth and Sunderland in next season’s Europa League, should they beat Rayo Vallecano in the Conference League final on 27 May.

What about the Conference League?

A general view of the Amex Stadium prior to kick-off against Manchester United — Image caption,

Fabian Hurzeler will lead Brighton into Europe in his third season with the club in 2026-27.

There was just one place available in the 2026-27 Conference League and whoever finished eighth would be the side to earn that reward.

Like the Europa League, all four previously mentioned sides had the possibility of finishing eighth.

Chelsea started the day in that spot but their 2-1 defeat by Sunderland saw them drop all the way to tenth – their lowest Premier League finish since the 2022-23 season.

Instead, the honour would go to Brighton, who started the day in seventh.

Despite a humbling 3-0 defeat by Manchester United, the Blues’ loss combined with Brentford dropping points at Anfield ensured it would be the Seagulls playing in the Conference League for the first time.

Brighton qualified for Europe for the first time in their 122-year history in 2023 after finishing sixth in the Premier League but will now feature in the Conference League for the first time next season.

This article is the recent from BBC Sport’s Ask Me Anything team.